In general, the formation of a dye image in a silver halide color photographic material occurs in a process wherein an aromatic primary amine color developing agent is oxidized when it reduces silver halide grains in a silver halide color photographic material which has been exposed to light, and the resulting oxidation product undergoes a coupling reaction with a coupler contained in the silver halide color photographic material. In the formation of a dye image in a silver halide color photographic material, the subtractive color process is used to provide color reproduction. Therefore, three kinds of couplers which form yellow, magenta and cyan dyes, respectively, are normally used.
Among these couplers, as yellow couplers there are generally known acylacetanilide type couplers containing an active methylene (methine) group as disclosed in T. H. James, "The Theory of the Photographic Process", 4th ed., page 354. These couplers are disadvantageous in that they exhibit a low absorptivity coefficient, a poor dye image preservability, especially in a dark place, and a broad spectral absorption causing poor color reproducibility, etc.
As couplers similar to the yellow couplers of the present invention there are known malondianilide yellow couplers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,149,886, 4,095,984, and 4,477,563, and British Patent 1,204,680. However, these couplers are disadvantageous in that they exhibit an even lower dye image preservability. These couplers are disadvantageous in that they exhibit a broad spectral absorption having a trailing skirt on the long wavelength side, causing some difficulties in color reproducibility.
With respect to magenta couplers, the improvement in the hue of the magenta dye by the use of pyrazoloazole magenta couplers instead of 5-pyrazolone type couplers which had been commonly used has been recently noted. Dyes produced by the reaction of these couplers with an oxidation product of a color developing agent exhibit little side absorption harmful in color reproduction, making it possible to widen the color reproducible range. These couplers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,725,067, and 4,942,117, and JP-A-60-172982, JP-A-63-231347, and JP-A-63-291058 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"). These couplers are excellent in image preservability in a dark place as compared to conventional pyrazolone type couplers.
However, the combination of the conventional yellow couplers with these pyrazoloazole magenta couplers can provide some improvement in the magenta image preservability in a dark place, but this combination exhibits a poor yellow image preservability in a dark place, causing a poor balance therebetween in practice. Furthermore, the examination of discoloration behavior on a portion where only yellow has been developed revealed a new problem that as the yellow image discolors, the yellow portion is stained with magenta.